Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Flip

1 2

Original poster

Struggling to treat fleas.

34 replies

ThisMustBeMyDream · 29/12/2018 22:45

My cat came to me from a rescue with fleas. I have used frontline plus monthly. I've flea combed, but she still has live fleas on her. I have treated the house with frontline homeguard. Pulled every bit of furniture out and sprayed every nook and cranny, treated every soft furnishing, hot washed all bedding, teddies, cushion covers, throws, mattress toppers etc.
Bathed the cat tonight as it's the only way I can flea comb as she isn't a people kinda cat.... she was squeaky clean. 8 fleas, 3 of which were dead - all removed. 3 hours later, just looked under her chin - 2 fleas crawling about.

Is it time to call the council in/burn the house down/what?!

OP posts:

EnormousDormouse · 29/12/2018 22:47

What is the active ingredient in the frontline spray?
I use Informed (dead cheap on Amazon) which is permethrin based and has successfully nuked everything.

Santaisfastasleepatlast · 29/12/2018 22:48

Frontline is crap. See a vet for something better.

EnormousDormouse · 29/12/2018 22:48

Indorex spray

dementedpixie · 29/12/2018 22:50

Use a vet flea treatment e.g. advocate/ stronghold plus and indorex for the house. Don't use over the counter treatments as they are rubbish

BringItOn88 · 29/12/2018 22:57

I second Indorex and Advocate. We came back from holiday and was greeted with one of our cats and a massive flea problem (despite using Frontline religiously). The Indorex worked wonders and since using Advocate both of line have been flea free

Hungrypuffin · 29/12/2018 22:59

Frontline is useless these days as fleas have become resistant to it. Get to your vet and get prescription stuff. Most vets do a pay monthly plan now to spread the cost.

Wolfiefan · 29/12/2018 23:00

Frontline is rubbish. Apparently you need to treat the whole house every 6 months if you use it.
Advocate cat.
Indorex the house.

madcatladyforever · 29/12/2018 23:02

My cat is a notorious flea bag, it must be her type of fur or something, I used to get the house fumigated once a year out of sheer desperation, but since my new vet prescribed Bravecto (comes in a dropper) I have not seen one single flea. It's a miracle.
It has to be prescribed though. You apply it every three months.

strawberrypenguin · 29/12/2018 23:03

Frontline is rubbish. Phone your vets for a different flea treatment. I e used Prinovox with great effect in the past

WhirlwindHugs · 29/12/2018 23:08

I agree, get something prescribed from the vet. Comfortis worked well for us when we had a dire infestation.

Wolfiefan · 29/12/2018 23:17

I wouldn’t use bravecto.

shelikesemwithamoustache · 29/12/2018 23:25

Frontline doesn't work - I get Stronghold on prescription from the vets and that nukes the buggers. Indorex spray (available on Amazon) is great if they are in the home as well as on the cat.

GreenMeerkat · 29/12/2018 23:33

Fully agree with others. Advocate and Indorex!

We had the same problem using frontline. Fleas were just not going away (and I was being munched to death by the blighters) so I took him to the vet who, in a roundabout way (I don't think she was allowed to say it directly) said that frontline no longer works as fleas have developed an immunity to it. She prescribed advocate for the cat and recommended indorex for the house. That was 4 weeks ago and not a nibble since!

MyBeloved · 29/12/2018 23:42

Agree with pp:

Indorex for the house (also I sprayed it inside my Hoover and the car)
Advocate from the vet for the cat.

You have my sympathy - it's no fun dealing with fleas!

Pennina · 29/12/2018 23:48

I had the same problem with 2 farm kittens. Whole house full of fleas including my other 2 cats. I did the following: monthly frontline plus. I flea bombed the worst rooms, indorex spray all other rooms, stairs, kitchen, hoover (chuck bag out). Regular spraying of areas where I found fleas again. Extra hoovering. 2 weeks later fleas almost gone. No fleas at all after a month. We just have all 4 cats on frontline plus. I know that some people find it doesn't work but it has for us. To give you an idea of scale one of the cats had over 65 fleas!!!! I would often pick approx 10 fleas off my ankles. It was a complete nightmare and if I hadn't been able to sort it I think I'd have had to of got pest control in but this has honestly done the trick.

Amicompletelyinsane · 29/12/2018 23:48

I work in a vets and had the same issues with frontline. I even spoke to the sales rep who was trying to convince me I must have used it wrong! Our practice don't even sell frontline anymore because we had so many people having issues. Try a veterinary product. I use advantage which used to be a vet product but you can buy it online these days. Def indorex the house and let the cat have full access to all the rooms as the treated cat helps treat the house

Iamdanish · 29/12/2018 23:59

As pps have said, Frontline does not work. Even our vet. Complains about the product. Here we have something called Bravecto that is really good (from the vet.). Have tried Advantage for our Maine coon, she ended up with a big wound where it was applied. So look at the skin for some time when changing products.

MargotLovedTom1 · 30/12/2018 10:08

Our vet also uses Bravecto. It was nothing short of a miracle. I know there have been horror stories about it, but my car has had no obvious ill effects and is much happier without the constant scratching and scabs from an allergic reaction to bites.
Broadline took the fur off the back of her neck and didn't sort out the fleas. We also used Indorex on the house.

Santaisfastasleepatlast · 30/12/2018 10:38

Right now op fill lots of shallow dishes with Fairy and hot water.
Fleas can't resist a hot bath!!
Then pets at home for the house spray. Cost me £18.99 but worked!!
Then vets tomorrow. Ask for a prescription (£8) and shop online. Much much cheaper.

thecatneuterer · 30/12/2018 11:08

I use Informed (dead cheap on Amazon) which is permethrin based and has successfully nuked everything.

OMG - DO NOT USE THIS!!!!!!!!! @EnormousDormouse

Permethrin kills a small percentage of the cats it comes into contact with. it used to be the active ingredient in Bob Martin flea treatment. We saw quite a few deaths from it every year in our clinic alone. There was a huge outcry, with BMs tried to shut down with threats of suing, and now they've changed the active ingredient. I'm horrified that it's still possible to buy permethrin based treatments. DO NOT BUY THEM!

To answer the question, fleas are now more or less immune to Frontline. Use Advantage, Stronghold or Advocate.

thecatneuterer · 30/12/2018 11:12

@EnormousDormouse I'm always on call on Christmas Day. Christmas Day six years ago I was called to a household that had just treated both their cats with the permethrin based Bob Martins. Both were fitting. We got them into the clinic and treated them to stop the fitting, but they were both dead by the evening. That's just one of thousands upon thousands of similar cases. Never, never use anything containing permethrin.

minkies11 · 30/12/2018 11:13

Use advocat on my cats and indorex on the house. Front line just doesn't work. Mine bring squirrels in and they are crawling with fleas! We had an infestation in the house and I ended up with 30-odd flea bites before getting 2 cans of indorex and using the advocat. Indorex is good because it is more pet friendly so check before buying house spray for fleas - the flea 'bombs' I think can be quite toxic.

EnormousDormouse · 30/12/2018 11:57

@thecatneuterer - Indorex is specifically for treating households with cats, I got it from the vets first time. Most of the posts on this thread are testament to that. Perfectly safe if used according to the instructions on the tin.

dementedpixie · 30/12/2018 12:03

enormousdormouse, the catneuterer is not talking about indorex but about spot on containing permethrin. Your first post changed it to Informed and she maybe thought it was a spot on you bought for applying to the cat

thecatneuterer · 30/12/2018 12:09

@EnormousDormouse You said 'Informed' which is permethrin=based.

I assumed you were talking about a spot on treatment. Indorex and Acclaim are fine as house treatments.

Flip

1 2